Hi Sheila, is it abuse to stand a resident every 2 hours during the night to wake them up to relieve pressure?

Answered by Sheila Scott

Dear T,

Thank you for your question.

I have never heard of a resident being woken every 2 hours during the night to be stood up to relieve pressure but I have discussed this with a colleague who told me that she had encountered this practice in the past but certainly not recently.

The first thing, is to say that the resident should be being cared for on a pressure relieving mattress. This should minimise the need for any other action to be taken during the night.

It would not be unheard of to wake someone up and turn them if there was major concern about the fragility of the skin on their pressure points and that this had been decided after a risk assessment.

Who has made this decision, is it the decision of a Doctor or has someone else decided this?

What does the care plan say?

Does the resident object to being stood up?

Why are they not being cared for on a pressure relieving mattress?

These are the points that need to be considered.

The most important of which is what the resident thinks and do they object.

The service should have a policy on the prevention of pressure sores.

What does the risk assessment say about the risk of pressure sores?

How has this conclusion been arrived at?  The impact on the sleep of the individual will surely have an impact on their health.

Your question does concern me. If you wanted to come back to me with more information I would be in a better position to make a definite comment on your question.

Best wishes.

Sheila